The present invention relates to a drying agent cartridge accommodated in a housing and to an air treatment system with such a drying agent cartridge.
Such air treatment devices and drying agent cartridges are used in commercial vehicles, in particular trucks and tractors. The latter frequently have one or more compressed air consumers which have to be supplied with treated compressed air. Typical compressed air consumers are, for example, a compressed air braking system, a pneumatic spring system, or a parking brake system. A compressed air supply device which in particular has an air treatment system is provided in order to supply the commercial vehicle with compressed air. The air treatment system is intended to provide, in particular, dried and purified air. For this purpose, an air treatment system is generally provided with an air dryer device which frequently also has filter devices for filtering the air. In order to permit easy maintenance and replacement of the filters and, for example, of drying agent, use is generally made of a drying agent cartridge as the air dryer device, which can be connected to the air treatment system or can be inserted into the latter. In order to connect the air dryer device to the air treatment system, a quarter turn connection or a quarter turn fastener is frequently used in this case. The quarter turn connection connects the air dryer device to the air treatment system via a plug-in and turn connection. Examples of quarter turn fasteners for connecting drying agent cartridges to air treatment systems are described in DE 10 2006 037 311 A1, to which reference is hereby explicitly made.
During the mounting or removing of a drying agent cartridge on or from an air treatment system, torques are exerted on various components of the air treatment system and of the drying agent cartridge. If, for example, a quarter turn ring of a quarter turn fastener for fastening the drying agent cartridge to the air treatment system is used, a torque can be exerted on the housing of the air treatment system, the drying agent cartridge and the covering housing surrounding the drying agent cartridge by rotation of the quarter turn ring. The torques may cause the components to rotate in relation to one another, which may have an adverse affect on the operability of the quarter turn fastener and the service life thereof.
In particular, the quarter turn lugs of the individual components, which quarter turn lugs are covered by the quarter turn ring, may not lie congruently above one another and an optimum distorted force flux may occur when the air treatment system is charged with pressure. Furthermore, difficulties may arise during the removal of the drying agent cartridge if the quarter turn lugs are not congruent since the quarter turn ring can then possibly only be removed with difficulty, if at all. However, an incorrectly or not completely operable quarter turn fastener constitutes a considerable safety risk. Furthermore, incorrectly oriented components, which are rotated in relation to one another, of a drying agent cartridge or of an air treatment system may lead to a non-uniform throughflow of air and therefore to a reduced performance of the air treatment system.
An improved air treatment system and an improved drying agent cartridge are therefore required.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an air treatment system with rotationally secure and readily aligned components.
According to the invention, a drying agent cartridge is provided for a commercial vehicle, the drying agent cartridge having a drying agent cartridge housing which is upwardly bounded by a cover and is downwardly bounded by a support element. Furthermore, the drying agent cartridge has a drying agent container which is accommodated in the drying agent cartridge housing. The drying agent container is connected to the drying agent cartridge housing in a form-fitting manner. In particular, the drying agent container can contain a drying agent. According to the invention, the drying agent container and the drying agent cartridge housing can be aligned correctly with each other in a simple manner, thus resulting in a desired angular orientation and, during operation, air can flow through uniformly. Furthermore, the production of the drying agent cartridge is simplified, since the form-fitting connection makes it possible easily to recognize whether the components of the drying agent cartridge are correctly installed. Furthermore, the form-fitting connection results in a coupling of the drying agent cartridge housing and drying agent container, the coupling leading to better securing of said components against rotation in relation to each other.
Provision may be made for the drying agent container to be connected to the support element by at least one pin which is received in a recess. Pins and associated recesses can be provided by simple processes during production and lead to a reliable, form-fitting connection which is easy to fit. Furthermore, pins which are not introduced correctly into recesses lead rapidly to a tilting of components in relation to one another, thus making erroneous installation clearly noticeable.
The drying agent container can advantageously have at least one pin which is received in a recess of the support element. As an alternative, it is possible for the drying agent container to have at least one recess which receives a pin of the support element. A further possibility consists in the drying agent container having pins and recesses which interact with associated pins and recesses of the support element. Such a combination results in a particularly good and stable form-fitting connection.
In one embodiment, provision is made for the drying agent container to have a drying agent cover which is connected to the cover in a form-fitting manner. The upper components are therefore coupled to each other. It is particularly advantageous if the drying agent container is connected both in the cover region thereof to the cover of the drying agent cartridge housing and also in the lower region thereof to the support element in a form-fitting manner. This avoids an internal rotation of components of the drying agent cartridge.
In particular, provision may be made for the drying agent cover to include at least one drying agent cover rib which is connected in a form-fitting manner to at least one cover rib of the cover. In this case, the drying agent cover may expediently have more than one drying agent cover rib. A rib structure permits a stable construction and, at the same time, permits a throughflow of air. It is particularly advantageous here if a drying agent cover rib is received between two cover ribs. The cover ribs therefore form a type of guide for the drying agent cover rib, the guide firstly permitting and requiring correct installation. Secondly, the ribs are coupled upon rotation. Of course, it is analogously possible to accommodate a cover rib between two drying agent cover ribs. A combination of rib arrangements of this type may also be expedient.
It is particularly advantageous if the cover ribs and the drying agent cover ribs lie substantially one above another in an axial direction. The ribs therefore at least partially cover one another and permit a greater cross section for a throughflow of air. Should ribs also be used in the region of the support element, it is particularly expedient if the ribs are also covered by the cover ribs and the drying agent cover ribs in the axial direction.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the drying agent cartridge has at least one recess for receiving a pin of a housing of an air treatment system of a commercial vehicle. The drying agent cartridge advantageously comprises at least two recesses with a differing cross section for receiving pins of a housing of an air treatment system of a commercial vehicle. The pins are expediently designed in such a manner that the cross sections thereof correspond to the cross sections of the recesses. The drying agent cartridge may also have one or more pins which are provided for receiving in recesses of the housing, or may have at least one pin and at least one recess. By way of the pins and the associated recesses, the housing is secured against rotation in relation to the drying agent cartridge. By use of different cross-sectional shapes, installation of the drying agent cartridge on the housing in a desired angular orientation can be ensured.
The invention also comprises an air treatment system for a commercial vehicle with an above-described drying agent cartridge.
Furthermore, the invention relates to an air treatment system for a commercial vehicle with a housing, a drying agent cartridge which is connected or connectable to the housing, and with a covering housing for covering the drying agent cartridge. The covering housing is connected or connectable to the drying agent cartridge in a form-fitting manner. In particular, the covering housing may be formed separately from the drying agent cartridge and fitted only upon installation of the drying agent cartridge such that the covering housing covers and protects a part of the drying agent cartridge that protrudes from the housing. The form-fitting connection between the drying agent cartridge and covering housing facilitates correct installation and leads to coupling of the covering housing and drying agent cartridge during rotational movements, thus making it possible to avoid rotation of the components in relation to one another upon the action of a torque.
In particular, provision may be made for the covering housing to have a pin which is received in a recess of the drying agent cartridge. As an alternative, the covering housing may have a recess in which a pin of the drying agent cartridge is received. Optionally, a combination may also be provided, in which both the covering housing and the drying agent cartridge each have at least one pin and a recess.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, provision is made for the drying agent cartridge and the housing to be connected or connectable by a quarter turn fastener. The drying agent cartridge, the housing and the covering housing may also be connected or connectable by a quarter turn fastener. A quarter turn fastener provides a good and reliable connection with a small overall height.
It is particularly advantageous if the drying agent cartridge has a quarter turn lug with a recess for receiving a pin of the covering housing. This is expedient since, when a quarter turn fastener is used, the covering housing and the drying agent cartridge are generally in contact with each other in the region of the quarter turn lugs thereof and therefore structures which are already present serve for the provision of the pin and the recess. Furthermore, a quarter turn lug provides a protruding structure which is particularly readily suitable for attaching a device for producing a form-fitting connection.
Furthermore, provision may be made for the drying agent cartridge and the housing to be connected to each other by at least one pin arranged in a recess. It is particularly advantageous if the drying agent cartridge has two or more recesses of differing cross section, which are designed to receive corresponding pins of the housing. The pins are expediently designed in such a manner that the cross sections thereof correspond to the cross sections of the recesses. The drying agent cartridge may also have one or more pins which are provided for receiving in recesses of the housing, or may have at least one pin and at least one recess. The pins and the associated recesses result in a securing of the housing against rotation in relation to the drying agent cartridge. By use of the different cross-sectional shapes, installation of the drying agent cartridge on the housing in a desired angular alignment can be ensured. Overall, a coupling and an associated securing of the housing, the drying agent cartridge and the covering housing against rotation can therefore be achieved.
It is particularly advantageous if the drying agent cartridge is a drying agent cartridge as described above.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.